IFA 2024: everything we expect from the huge tech show

IFA calls itself “the largest consumer electronics and home appliances show in the world,” making it quite an important event in the realm of technology. In fact, it’ll actually be celebrating its 100th year of running, which boggles the mind.

But what exactly is so exciting about what’s happening at the show this year? Well, quite a lot as it turns out, and we’ll be there on the show floor in Berlin covering it all. The official doors to the show will open on September 6 and it runs until September 10, but you can expect announcements to drop both before and throughout.

Please note that this is not at all an extensive list of all the products and companies that will be at IFA. Hopefully, however, it will give you an idea of the scope of what the show will offer.

Intel makes its stand

The stakes have never been higher for Intel. I won’t lay out the whole situation, but between its nightmarish drop in stock value, desktop CPU instability problems, and some very compelling competition from Qualcomm, the ball is squarely in Intel’s court. It’s time to show its card,s both in terms of performance claims and industry support.

The company is expected to launch its Core Ultra Lunar Lake laptop chips just ahead of the show on September 3, and the event will be livestreamed for the world to see. It’ll be happening on that day at 9 a.m. PT.

In just about every way, these chips represent a new course for Intel, as they use “radical low-power architecture” and a compute tile manufactured by its competitor, TSMC. Of course, the chips will also meet the neural processing unit (NPU) threshold to meet the Copilot+ requirement — if that even matters at this point.

Intel has a lot to prove, but these chips certainly look promising. All eyes will be on Intel to see if it can earn back some good will going into the holiday season.

New laptops

Of course, the “launch” of mobile CPUs needs devices to match, so don’t be surprised to see the usual suspects launch some new laptops at the event, some of which were already previewed at Computex in June, such as the Asus Zenbook S 14. That stunning laptop was shown off at Computex, but we’re expecting to see it pop up again.

Exactly how much support Intel’s Lunar Lake gets, however, will be important to watch. Laptop manufacturers are being pulled in every direction with AMD, Intel, and now Qualcomm. For example, the Zenbook S 16 has already been launched in support of AMD’s Ryzen 300 AI platform. Which flagship models have been actually held for the Lunar Lake launch? We know all of the major brands have signed on to support the platform, including Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and more, but we’ll have to wait and see what specific laptop models will be unveiled.

We do know that these will likely be more of the thin-and-light devices we’ve seen throughout this year so far. Without new discrete GPU options from Nvidia on the table, more powerful laptops are still a ways out.

Phones, watches, and TVs

The biggest players in the smartphone game like Apple, Google, and Samsung don’t tend to launch new devices at shows like IFA. That doesn’t mean there won’t be some interesting developments in the mobile sector, though.

The Chinese manufacturer Honor is holding a global product launch event at the show, where it’s expected to show off a new Magic V3 foldable phone and the MagicPad 2 tablet. TCL has also been teasing a new Nxtpaper phone, as well as some new QD-Mini LED televisions. TCL has also teased that it will debut a “new cutting-edge sound solution,” built to showcase a new category in its TV series.

Lastly, Garmin will have a presence at the show too, and is expected to launch some new watches.

Appliances and smart home

Like I mentioned up top, IFA calls itself the biggest show for “consumer electronics and home appliances” in the world — and that home appliance part isn’t just an add-on. In fact, according to IFA, the household appliances area is the “most visited section at IFA.”

Now, there might not be a huge consumer tech following for new fridges or ovens, but make no mistake: these things can be seriously cool. Smart home technology feels like it’s still in its infancy, which means there’s plenty of room for experimentation and innovation — which meansthe kind of product demos shows like IFA are made for.

Beyond the kitchen, you can expect plenty of attention to be put on the wider smart home ecosystem as well. Whether it’s vacuums, thermostats, or smart security systems, there should be plenty of interesting entries to help develop this budding technology.

Companies like Samsung, LG, Bosch, and Haier are signed up to attend on the appliance front, while Eureka, Roborock, and Govee will have new stuff to show off too.

AI everywhere

You didn’t think I’d get through this preview without mentioning AI, did you? As much as we like to roll our eyes at the thought of more AI-infused products, they’re not going away anytime soon. We know that for sure by now.

We’re well into year two of AI madness, and it’s no longer enough to just slap “AI” on a technology and expect people to care. Integration of AI into more products should be a good thing if it’s done with care, and that’s where this technology is headed.

Don’t get me wrong; we’re bound to see some silly products that try to sell themselves on “AI.” But let’s be real, sometimes exploring some of the zany side of tech is half the fun with these conferences.